As we age our perspective changes. I look for different things than I used to. I am less drawn to the shiny and more drawn to the healthy. As I meet more ministry leaders, pastors, catalysts and neighborhood practitioners I am looking for something I haven’t before; longevity. I have started to ask these two questions.
Who has been doing neighborhood work for a while and still has gas in the tank?
Inevitably those who still have gas in the tank for neighboring have developed crucial practices and continue to live by them. So, this leads us to question #2.
What crucial practices do we need to keep loving our neighbors for a long time?
Dial in to these crucial practices for longevity in neighborhood ministry.
Follow rabbit trails: We have no idea what God is up to in our neighborhoods and how he wants to accomplish it. Our strategies are just guesses. We need to remember it isn’t about the events, as relational or exciting as they might be; it’s about the people. People are good at crawling out of boxes. They don’t fit neatly into the time and expectations we have, but when we are committed to following rabbit trails in the lives around us God shows up.
Fold others into your family. It is impossible to keep planning new events and meetings for everyone around you. Through necessity my family has learned the crucial practice of folding others into the life and activities of our family. My single friend, Matt, has gotten to experience dinners, bed time, chores and work projects as part of our family. Part of discipleship is inviting people into our lives “as is”. This is a real, honest look at our lives, messy house and all. Sometimes the best hospitality happens last minute.
Create collective overlap. Jesus was constantly creating and joining spaces of collective overlap where he mixed and mingled with notorious sinners. These spaces of open social interaction and meals were also what he was most harshly criticized for. Those who know Jesus and those who don’t know Jesus (yet) need to interact with one another. It’s crucial that we create spaces where both of those groups feel welcome and can connect. Our most crucial collective overlap practice is called “Free Coffee Friday”. For the last five years we have provided mediocre coffee on Friday mornings and created a table for friends and neighbors to gather around and connect. The mixing and mingling allows God’s people to be present and available.
Create sustainable rhythms: You won’t make it very long in anything, especially ministry, without healthy rhythms. Through cold winters or beautiful summers you will need to define what your weekly commitments and engagements include and exclude in the ‘hood. Neighbors will learn your boundaries over time, and they will learn you are not always available. Any time you create a posture of invitation you’ll need to couple this with boundaries.
Seek faithful presence instead of impact. Our culture worships the idol of impact. The word “impact” is hard to define and leads us to question what we’re aiming at. This, inevitably, leads to discouragement. Chasing impact will lead us to seek the feeling of “making a big difference” instead of rooting ourselves in formation, mission and ministry of the Father.
Operate as a ministry hub: Refuge the prevailing view of home today, and especially in the church. Especially for pastors. Instead our homes need to be a hub for operation where life, grace and compassion spills forth into a needy world. As you begin to function as a hub in your neighborhood think through these two principles.
- Stay visible. Visibility often creates invitation. Spend time in your front yard instead of the back, get outside of your home to have conversation with neighbors, take a slow walk with your family and raise the garage door when you’re doing a project. Seek to make a scene in your neighborhood that others feel invited into.
- Stay consistent: Choose what you’ll put into practice and keep showing up! Most people won’t join you immediately, but they will watch until a sustained reputation develops. Consistency yields credibility, and credibility is the currency of the neighborhood.